Castle has a history of scholarly debate surrounding its exact meaning. It is usually regarded as being distinct from the general terms fort or fortress in that it describes a building which serves as a residence and commands a specific territory. Despite this, the word "castle" is sometimes used to mean a citadel (such as the castles of Badajoz and Burgos) or small detached forts d'arrêt in modern times and, traditionally, in Britain it has also been used to refer to prehistoric earthworks (e.g. Maiden Castle).
Definition:
Castle comes from the Latin word castellum meaning "fortress". This is a diminutive of the word castrum, which means "fortified place". The word "castle" (castel) was introduced into English shortly before the Norman Conquest to denote this new type of fortress, then new to England, brought in by the Norman knights. In Spain, a fortified dwelling on a height for the administering authority retains its Moorish name of alcázar, whilst shiro also figure prominently in Japanese history, where the feudal daimyō inhabited them.
A French castle is a château-fort, for in French a simple château connotes a grand country house at the center of an estate, with non-military, purely residential function. When European castles were opened up and expanded into pleasure dwellings and power houses from the late 15th century, their "castle" designations, relics of the feudal age, often remained attached to the dwelling, resulting in many non-military castles and châteaux.
In Germany there are two names for what would be called a castle in English, Burg and Schloss. A Burg is a medieval structure of military significance, while a Schloss was built after the Middle Ages as a palace and not for defensive purposes. However, these are not usually palaces in the French style, but instead are styled on medieval mountain castles and fairytale notions, and from all appearances are often castles to an English speaker.
Caer is the Welsh term for a castle, seen in the place names Caernarfon and Caerphilly. Irish dún and Scots Gaelic dùn are used to refer to early forts, although caisleán (Irish) and caisteal (Scots Gaelic) are used to refer to stone castles. This is used in the Irish proverb: "De réir a chéile a thógtar na caisleáin" — "It takes time to build castles".
Purpose:
Castles were built as a defensive measures and offensive weapons, but often over time comfortable homes evolved within the fortified walls, examples of this evolution are the medieval Prince's Palace of Monaco founded as grim fortress in the 13th century, and the even older Windsor Castle.
Thus a castle became not only a bastion and place for detention of prisoners but also be a social place where a knight or lord could entertain his peers. As the castle became established as not only a fortress bur also a place of residence the aesthetics of the design increased in importance, as the appearance and size began to reflect the prestige and power of the occupier.
Larger castles sometime had entire villages within their walls, often in the outer bailey, these villages were often established when the area defended by the castle came under attack and the the inhabitants of the locality would seek safety within the walls.
The main distinguishing features of castles, as opposed to other defensive structures, can be defined as follows:
Firstly, castles were places of protection from an invading enemy, a place of retreat. This is the purpose behind such stereotypical castle features as portcullises, battlements, and drawbridges.
Secondly, castles were offensive weapons, built in otherwise hostile territories from which to control surrounding lands, as forward camps. In particular, during the High Middle Ages, castles were often built for territorial expansion and regional control. A castle was a stronghold from which a lord could control surrounding territory.
Lastly, castles were either built as, or evolved into, residences for the monarch or lord who built them.
These three purposes distinguish the castle from other fortresses — which are usually purely defensive (like citadels and city walls) or purely offensive (a military camp) — or edifices that are entirely residential in nature, like palaces. Castles such as the Tower of London served as prisons. Captured nobles could be held to ransom in a castle, and contrary to the popular image, they were usually kept in good condition.
Many later castles were not built primarily for defensive purposes. This can best be seen in castles such as Bodiam Castle in East Sussex, whose defensive appearance was probably built merely to impress; inside the castle is geared towards family living. |
